Friday, July 15, 2011

Success!

Lookee!

Unicorn One has been pollinated! See the paper bags? There are 11 of them that I could see.

The nuts under these bags will be collected when ripe, and used to grow the next generation of Restoration Chestnuts. There are somewhere between 11 and 44 pollinated female blossoms in there, each blossom could make up to three nuts. So that's as many as 132 future trees here!

These nuts are developing higher on the tree. I don't know if these nuts are viable for growing new trees.

This is the American chestnut tree growing next to the Upper Charles Trail in Milford, MA. It turns out the Friends of the Trail group had already spotted the tree, but I guess they didn't know to pass the info along to the American Chestnut Foundation.

I feel like I have done something deeply good for humanity and the environment. :) Someday the wilderness will be full of these trees again, and I have now played a small part.

Paradise in Suburbia

Welcome to our garden! Since 2007 we have been striving to turn our lawn into something beautiful, tasty, ecologically sound, and a centerpiece of our community here in Franklin, Massachusetts. We hope you enjoy your visit!